Closer Now
by AWildeRomantic
Summary: When a deadly virus wipes out Atlantis, Elizabeth must sort through layers of truths and lies to figure out what really happened, and how she was involved. Slight AU, Sparkyish. Bad summary, see inside for more...


A/N – My first SGA fic…Thought it's AU and takes place mostly on earth, with the characters of SG-1 making a few cameos. The story is post-multi character death, and it's set in a world where the Stargate program has been public for a while. The story was strongly influenced by the first "Resident Evil" movie, but it's not a crossover. Ummmm…other than that, there's Sparky, and then some parts that could be interpreted as Rodney/Sam carter or one that could be McBeckett, though it's only if you want to see it.

* * *

Chapter 1: Lost Time

Elizabeth woke up to a sensation like someone had wedged an axe into the side of the neck. Grumbling, she pressed her fingers into the knotted muscles until the pain abated, then opened her eyes.

The strange room was lit only by moonlight falling through tall, leaded glass windows, and the glow from a few last embers in the fireplace before her. Elizabeth frowned. She could remember getting up from bed and moving to this chair before the fire, curling up and going back to sleep. But before that…

She bit her lip and pressed the heels of her palms against her eyes, trying to think. Though she'd been awake for a good five minutes it still felt like the haze of sleep was settled over her mind. That night was a hazy blur…she obviously wasn't on Atlantis…so where was she?

Earth. That damn press conference she'd had to go to with General O'Neill and some people from the SGC…But this house…

Her attention was distracted by the figure that was still asleep on the bed waking suddenly and sitting up. "Elizabeth?"

Anderson. Casey Anderson. The name floated unbidden across her mind along with the knowledge that she knew him and shouldn't be worried.

Anderson was leaning forward, waving his hand near the bedside lamp so it flickered on. "Are you ok? What's wrong?"

"What's going on?" Elizabeth asked quietly, looking over at him and drawing her knees up to her chest. "I can't…remember anything from the past few days…it's all a blur. I don't know where…why…"

Anderson was out of bed in a split second, his robe thrown on over his half bare, half boxer-clad form. He hurried over and crouched next to the chair, reaching out to put a hand on Elizabeth's arm. "What do you mean you don't remember?"

"I mean I can't remember anything…" Elizabeth put her hand to her forehead. "It's …it's like trying to remember a dream. I know I got up and came to sit in the chair…but I don't remember before that. The last few days at least. I remember earlier things…"

"Shit." Anderson stood up suddenly and went over to a small control panel and screen set into the wall. He pushed a few buttons, and by the glow of the LCD screen, Elizabeth could see the faint frown crossing his features. He turned after a moment. "I'm sorry…the house's internal defenses…something set them off about three hours ago. Part of them is a nerve gas that causes temporary amnesia…I'm immune to it but you…" he shrugged apologetically.

Elizabeth gave him a strange look. "Careless of you." She yawned, covering her mouth with the back of her hand.

Anderson sighed. "Come back to bed. It'll be worn off by the time you wake up."

* * *

As oh so many proverbs said, things looked better in the morning. Elizabeth had to get back to Atlantis later that day, and truth be told she was glad to be heading back to some place familiar. The haze that had been covering her mind, and she was fairly sure that she was remembering everything correctly, but she couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.

Anderson insisted that she stay for breakfast, but after that Elizabeth made a hasty retreat back to her car. The news – which they watched while eating - had been filled, as it usually was on Earth, with the politics of the Stargate, and Elizabeth just wanted to get away from it all and back to her "safe" little corner of the Pegasus galaxy.

She was stopped at a red light, drumming her fingers on the steering wheel anxiously when her cell phone rang.

"Dr. Weir."

It was John's voice that she heard, saying "Elizabeth…" in a tone that was laced with panic and too little sleep.

"John? What's wrong?" He wasn't supposed to even be on Earth, how the hell was he calling her on her cell? "What happened?"

There was a long pause and she could hear him taking a few deep breaths. "I'll tell you when you get back to the SGC. That's where I am right now."

Elizabeth's mind was racing. She and Anderson had been watching the news while they ate. If something major had happened…if someone was dead she would have heard something for sure…unless….

" . . .John? Did something happen on Atlantis?"

"Yeah." It was barely more than a whisper.

"I'll be there in a few minutes." Elizabeth clicked her phone shut and dropped it onto the passenger seat. She was pushing the speed limit, she knew, waving discourteously between the other cars but right now she didn't care. Panic had seized her and all she could think of was getting back to the SGC.

John was waiting for her in the briefing room when she got there. General Landry was there as well, though he turned and retreated back into his office when Elizabeth entered.

"John…" She walked over to where he was sitting, putting a hand on his shoulder as he got to his feet. Something about the haunted expression in his eyes chilled her even more than his tone of voice when he'd called her.

"McKay and I were the only ones who didn't get sealed in…" John muttered, avoiding Elizabeth's gaze.

"Sealed in?"

John sighed. "There was a virus. In one of those laboratories we found, remember? That virus the ancients had been working on…It got out somehow and must have set off some defense system because next thing we know the city is sealing itself off and locking everyone inside. I was in a jumper at the time and McKay managed to get onto one of the balconies…I picked him up but by then it was too late for…" his voice trailed off.

"For what?" Elizabeth whispered.

"For everyone else." He met her gaze then. "We ran a scan of the city…no life signs."

Elizabeth's hand fell to her side and she could feel herself shaking. "How did you…"

"Flew to the nearest planet, gated back here." John shook his head. "McKay's a mess. He's not sure what happened." He swore quietly and Elizabeth put her hands on his shoulders again, more to steady herself than anything else.

"Where…where's Dr. McKay now?"

"He was in the infirmary then was going to talk to Colonel Carter about sending a probe through…" John closed his eyes, grimacing and leaning into Elizabeth's touch slightly. "Jesus Christ, Elizabeth…they're gone…less than fifteen minutes and they're all gone…"

Elizabeth pushed him gently back into his seat, then sat down herself, resting her arms on the table and trying to stop her mind from spinning. The muddled, cloudy feeling was seeping back into her mind and part of her was still convinced that she would gate back to Atlantis to find nothing had changed.

The doors to the briefing room opened and a numb looking Rodney walked in followed by Colonel Carter. Both sat across the table from Elizabeth, or rather, Carter sat and Rodney collapsed into one of the chairs.

"Dr. Weir?" Carter said quietly, and Elizabeth glanced up, barely able to acknowledge the other woman's presence. "There's…the Pentagon is going to do a full investigation into what happened once the probe returns information that the virus is completely gone. It appears to be dying off quickly without…without anything to sustain it."

"I want to lead the investigation." Elizabeth said, looking up.

"The Pentagon will be the ones to decide that." This was Landry, who had come back out of his office.

" 'Lizabeth's the leader of Atlantis." Rodney pointed out quietly.

Landry nodded. "Yes, but the Pentagon might want someone who doesn't have such an emotional involvement with the case."

"The _case_?" John frowned. "You make it sound like it wasn't an accident."

Everyone glanced at Rodney for a moment but he looked to Carter, who bit her lip nervously before explaining. "Readings from the city show that someone had tried to override the lock on the containment chamber holding the virus. We can't tell if they succeeded or not, but the glass on the chamber is broken. Cracked. That's how the virus got out."

John stared at his hands, frowning. Landry let out a heavy sigh. "Right now what the government is worried about is keeping this out of the press. An accident like this could mean political suicide for the Stargate Program."

Rodney muttered something that Elizabeth didn't catch, but Carter shot him a compassionate look and actually reached out to pat his shoulder. Landry looked at all of them, seeming at a loss for anything to do or say.

"A political situation." John said flatly a moment later. He was leaning back in his chair, arms folded over his chest. "Our friends, people we've worked with for years are _dead_ and all you can think of it as is a _political situation_."

Elizabeth glanced over and locked gazes with him. In that moment, and only by a slight quirk of his eyebrow, John showed that he knew something wasn't quite right. Maybe it was the dazed look in Elizabeth's eyes, or the detached way she'd been looking around the room only a moment before.

"I'm sorry." Landry said, drawing their attention back to him. "Really. It was a terrible loss that the whole world will feel. But for the moment we don't know anything about what actually happened and we can't make any assumptions."

Before Elizabeth could ask what the hell he'd meant by that, Carter said in a low, comforting tone of voice that they'd find out what happened.

"Yes we will." Elizabeth said, nodding and stressing the 'we' so no one would have any doubt as to the fact that she was going to be involved in this. She stood up, slowly and carefully, keeping the same perfect poise that she might use addressing the United Nations. "General, I think the three of us could use some time to…cope."

"Of course." Landry nodded. "I need to talk to the president anyway. I'll contact you when something comes up." He turned and left, then Carter did the same. Rodney muttered something about food and sleep before hurrying after Carter.

Elizabeth walked slowly over to the window that looked down upon the gate room; the massive ring that was the Stargate, silent, still and dark.

"It's all different now. No more secrets, no more security." John said, walking over to stand next to her. He pressed a palm flat against the window. "They think it might have been a terrorist act. You know, some protester or something." He sighed. "No more security."

As though the weight of what had happened finally hit her, Elizabeth slumped forward until her forehead rested on the glass, her fingers lightly touching the ledge at the base of the window. John put his hand on her back, just below the nape of her neck.

"Elizabeth…"

"I don't even know if this is really happening!" Elizabeth said suddenly, stepping back to look at John. His hand shifted to her shoulder. "I can't remember anything and I don't even know if this is real or not!"

"What are you talking about?" John took a step closer and she turned her head a little. The colonel narrowed his eyes almost imperceptibly. "Where were you earlier? Last night? They tried to get a hold of you, but…"

"With someone. Casey Anderson." It all seemed so trivial now.

John stared at her, wide eyed. "Casey Anderson? The CEO of Primus industries? Jesus, Elizabeth, are you insane?!"

"Don't start on me!" She stepped away suddenly, jerking away from his touch. "You were the one complaining about how we're always so careful about the political effects of things and now…I don't even give a damn if the newspapers are full of it tomorrow, I don't care!"

"Hey, Elizabeth, calm down!" John caught her by the wrists and looked angry with himself for losing it. "Just forget I said anything. Forget about it."

"I can't forget something I don't remember." Elizabeth muttered.

"What are you talking about?"

She took a deep breath. "Something set off the defense system in his house while we were sleeping. There was some sort of nerve gas that he's been immunized against…I thought I remembered everything this morning, but now I'm beginning to doubt…It doesn't really feel like something that's effects wear off in a couple hours."

John looked alarmed. "Do you think he did something to you? Do you think he was lying about the gas?"

"Why would he do something like that?" Elizabeth asked wearily. She wavered on her feet and John helped her back to one of the chairs.

"Oh, I don't know, maybe because his company is after the Stargate?" John said. He was still standing and Elizabeth could practically see him going from his shocked state to angry state.

"John, all but two of the people who were under my command as of yesterday are, as of now, dead." Elizabeth said, unable to keep the bitter trembling out of her voice. "I'm not really too worried right now about who I slept with last night."

John gave her an odd look and shook his head before turning away. Elizabeth sighed and sat back in her seat. Anderson was the last thing on her mind, Atlantis was the first. But as she thought about it more and more she couldn't shake the feeling that the two weren't mutually exclusive.


End file.
